(Photo Source: Huffington Post)
How does one start a revolution
to change the hearts and minds of people?
1: Think
It is important that a person
starts to think. Think about what needs to be changed. Think about why it needs
to be changed. Think of how to change the world or the place he or she is
surrounded by. Think about when it needs to be changed.
The first process is to think.
However, today we have damaged ourselves to a point we cannot think anymore. Is
it not strange that we are accepting everything that is being fed to us? Sex
sells, why should it sell? Sex is for the bedroom, not to share with everybody.
Money is the reason for happiness, why can’t having a happy family or sharing
time with friends bring happiness? Why do we have to work 8-5 to make money?
Why not work for a whole week non-stop to make money, or three times a week? Do
we all need to work white collar jobs? What is wrong with ‘kazi ya mjengo’ (masonry)? Why should politics be divided on
tribal basis, not development? Why should we look at other people’s race and
judge them? Why should we fight wars when no one is benefitting except the gun
manufacturers? Why do we do things
because someone did and it worked for them? Why not do things differently? Why
not be called weird because you refuse to be normal?
Thinking is not a tiresome or
tedious process. It involves opening the mind to endless possibilities. People
have been tortured or killed for thinking. However, revolution is based on
idea. A person can be killed, but an idea cannot be wished away. The problem is
fear. Those with power are afraid of people who think and will do everything in
their power to stop ideas. This is the reason why whenever someone has an
innovation or idea they are whisked away to a foreign country to avoid
competition with the existing products. If the person refuses there are other
extreme measures that are taken, but even if that person is dealt with, another
person who saw the idea will come up, and make sure that idea never dies.
Let us all think first. Thinking
helps make an informed choice.
2: Act
Do something. Start asking people
questions; Question why things are not working; Question what can be done to
change the situation; Question what people can do to contribute to change; ask
for support from people in order to bring change. Do something. By doing
something, you make it possible for others to start asking what they can do to
help build on the idea of a revolution. It might be small to you, but it
triggers a big chain reaction you could not have imagined.
(Photo Source: Quotes Gram Website)
I am not championing for people
to use violence. Mahatma Gandhi never used violence, Martin Luther King Jnr.
Never used violence. The only response for violence is more violence. Despite
the fact that at times violence works, it can never be sustained. It may have
worked against the colonial powers in Kenya, but at the end of the day
diplomacy came out on top. We need to talk, assist where we can and create long
lasting beneficial relationships.
These two steps are the only one
I can think of. Think and act.
To some of you these may look
like story tales told to toddlers about magical princesses and fairies, but I
believe with hope and trust they can be combined to make Kenya, if not the
world a better place. A better place for you, me and the future generation. If
you see a piece of paper thrown on the floor, pick it up and put it somewhere.
The reason is other people will come and throw things at the same spot and with
time it becomes a damping site. It not only damages the environment but causes
the global warming and radical weather changes we face today, example the
Equinox. I am not a saint, I know it is not easy to do so, especially when you
cannot find a trash can for miles. However, something great only begins with
one small step.
In order to change the world. You
have to change yourself, I have to change myself.
A revolution is changing the
mind, the stereotypes and hopeless situations.
What am I doing to bring change?
I have this blog where I write
what needs to be changed. My stories that contribute to the need for revolution
include ‘It is not my fault (this touches on racism and the fact that we cannot
blame people for things that happened years ago) and Politicking (where I wrote
about the need for politicians to rise up and decided to work for development
of the nation and not themselves). I am also talking to friends and families
and sharing with them my ideas. I am happy and grateful for their support and
it is always good to hear they shared the same stories with other people and
they also want to create change, not only for themselves but for others as
well. I am happy to hear on the news that people are changing, example the
people who asked a matatu (public
transport in Kenya) tout to reduce the volume of the vehicle because of the
young mother and child (though I do not support their use of violence) and also
the fact that the pastoralists communities in Kenya are coming together to
support themselves and their people after being marginalized for so long.
(Photo Source: Delcapo Files-Wordpress)
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